Cold plasma treatment for cotton seed germination improvement

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plasma Physics
• Plant Biology

Background:

• Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) establishment is often hindered by adverse environmental conditions at planting, including low temperatures and water scarcity.
• Cold atmospheric-pressure plasma (CAP) is an ionized gas containing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), excited molecules, charged particles, and UV photons, which has demonstrated biological activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of CAP treatment to enhance cotton seed germination and establishment under suboptimal environmental conditions.
• To determine the duration of the beneficial effects of CAP treatment on cotton seeds.

Main Methods:

• Cotton seeds were treated with air-based CAP for 27 minutes.
• Germination rates were assessed under standard warm conditions, metabolic chill tests, and chilling tolerance assays.
• The longevity of CAP treatment effects was evaluated by testing seeds treated up to 4 months prior to germination assays.

Main Results:

• A 27-minute CAP treatment significantly increased seed water absorption.
• CAP treatment notably improved warm germination, metabolic chill test germination, and chilling tolerance in cotton seeds.
• The positive effects of CAP treatment were found to be long-lasting, with significant improvements observed even when seeds were treated 4 months before germination testing.

Conclusions:

• CAP treatment is a viable and promising technology for the cotton industry.
• This method can significantly improve cotton plant establishment across a broader range of environmental conditions.
• The extended stability of CAP's benefits suggests feasibility for large-scale, pre-planting industrial seed treatments.